The Train
by JediMayukiDaAWESOME
Summary: Summary: "Hey Hope." "Yeah, what is it?" "Will you promise me we'll always meet here every year when you come here every summer holiday?" "I ... I promise, Claire." Has nothing to do with Final Fantasy XIII storyline, four-shot, AU, couple involved.
1. Beginning

**The Train**

**Summary:**** "Hey Hope." "Yeah, what is it?" "Will you promise me we'll always meet here every year when you come here every summer holiday?" "I ... I promise, Claire."**

**Two children meet at the train station. They become friends. They wait for a whole year to see each other, and do so every year for many years. Follow the story of young friendship and companionship turned into young love, and feel their happiness, sadness, loneliness and longing. Has nothing to do with Final Fantasy XIII storyline, four-shot, AU.**

* * *

_Here we are again and say goodbye_

_I see a face that I won't forget (forget)_

_All the people in the station walk on by_

_Now the train is ready to set (to set)_

_And now I count the days from A to Z_

_Until the train will bring you back (back)_

_And then we raving up on the DJ set_

_Until the next time that the train will bring you back_

* * *

Trains departed and arrived on their own designated schedule as people moved quickly through the busy crowd. Everyone's face is a blur; the only ones looking at them are those trying to find certain people. A female voiceover announcer called out _"Train 291 is approaching the station. Please make way on the landing platform for the arriving visitors and line up orderly to board for the return trip back to the city of Palumpolum. Thank you and have a nice day here in sunny Bodhum."_

The 291 train docked at Bodhum Train Station and another big crowd poured off of it. There were lots of people down at Bodhum at this time of year for the school and Christmas holidays and everyone that went there usually came back with a nice tan. A certain family of three got off of the 291 train and walked off of the platform, taking in the surroundings and the youngest, a little boy of five jumped up and down eagerly, unable to wait for the fun and games in store for him. He pulled on his mother's hand and said excitedly and bubbly "Yay! We're finally here! Come on, mum and dad! Let's go and have fun!"

The happy young parents looked down at their enthusiastic son, chuckling to themselves, and his mother replied "We know, son. But first, we need to check in at our hotel. Then afterwards, we can have a good sleep from our long travel and go down the jetty and have some nice, delicious ice-cream."

His face lit up at the mention of ice-cream and he started to jump around excitedly. "YAHOO!" he cried, "ICE-CREAM! ICE-CREAM! ICE-CREAM! ICE-CREAM!" His loving parents smiled at each other before smiling down at him and together they walked off the platform, their enthusiastic son leading a couple of paces in front of them.

The little boy looked around him in awe, seeing the many people rush by and looking at the many lights. In his rush, he accidently bumped into someone and fell onto him backside with a yelp. He shook his head and looked up, seeing a little girl of five with pink hair also on her hide, rubbing the top of her head. He got up and asked her "I'm soo sorry, are you alright?!" She looked up and looked at him, saying "It's alright, I'm okay." He smiled and held out a hand to her, the little girl grasping it and helping herself up.

She smiled and said "By the way, my name's Claire! What's your name?" He eagerly replied "Hope! Hope Estheim! I'm staying here for the summer holidays." Her smile got wider and she exclaimed "That's awesome! I live here with my little sister and my parents! Coming to think of it, are those your parents over there?" Hope looked where Claire was pointing and saw his parents slightly jogging towards them. They caught up with him and his mother exclaimed "Hope! Don't run off like that; we were worried you were lost!" He looked down at his feet and mumbled "Sorry mum."

She shook her head and gently smiled, saying "It's alright. Just don't run off without telling us next time." She turned to look at Claire and her smile got wider. "Hello there!" she cried, "What's your name?" Claire beamed and replied "Claire! Claire Farron!" Hope's father smiled at her to and exclaimed "That's a wonderful name! I'm Bartholomew and this is my wife, Nora. We're Hope's parents." She nodded and looked over their shoulders. Her face lit up even more and she pointed, yelling "There's mummy and daddy! MUM! DAD! OVER HERE!"

Another young couple turned around at the sound of the child's cry and immediately spotted their daughter. They rushed over to her, the mother carrying a younger daughter, and let out their breaths of relief when they reached the fairly small group. "Claire!" the mother cried, "Don't scare us like that; we thought we'd lost you!" She looked at the ground and mumbled "Sorry mummy!" Hope looked at Claire and back to her mother and said "Please, don't be mad at her! We just accidently crashed into each other and talked to each other, that's all!"

They looked down at his surprised, but soon their faces melted into smiles and the father said "Don't worry, son. We're not mad at her; we were just worried about her, that's all." He looked up to look at Nora and Bartholomew and said "Thank you for looking out for her." Nora shook her head and replied "No worries. Actually, Bartholomew and I were in quite the same dilemma. Hope had run off and we didn't know where on Cocoon he was. So really, you should be thanking my son, Hope, here." They smiled back down at him and the mother said "Thank you, Hope!" He beamed and replied "No problem!"

The fathers shook hands with each other and Claire's dad introduced himself. "My name is Arthur Farron," he said "it's an honour to meet you!" Bartholomew smiled and replied "I'm Bartholomew Estheim. It's great to meet you." Arthur gestured to his wife and said "This is my wife, Ada, and your met our eldest, but this is our youngest, Serah." Bartholomew wrapped an arm around Nora and said "This is Nora, and you've already met Hope. We come from Palumpolum."

They nodded and Arthur asked "If you guys want; we can direct you to your hotel or wherever you're staying." Bartholomew smiled and said "That'll be great! Are you sure we won't impose or anything?" Arthur waved and said "It's no problem at all! In fact, we could go walking down the jetty later tonight once you've settled in." Bartholomew exclaimed "Great idea! Will that be okay Nora?" She beamed and said "Of course it will." Arthur nodded and said "It's settled then. We'll meet at 5:30, just before sunset to see the sun go down."

And with that, the Farron family took the Estheim family to their hotel room and came back at 5:30 on the dot. They reached the beach and Nora gasped "Wow! It's so beautiful!" It was indeed, with a pink and orange sky and a dark blue sea with people on the beach and on the jetty to watch the sunset and sit in a comfortable, serene mode. The children got their ice-creams and sat on the end of the jetty, their legs dangling over the edge.

Hope, who was licking a chocolate ice-cream, turned to Claire with a smile and said "This has been one of the best days of my life, Claire! I'm so glad I met you!" Claire grinned back at him over her slightly eaten vanilla ice-cream and replied happily "Same here!" They sat in a couple of moments of friendly and relaxed silence as the sun was halfway down below the horizon until Claire said "Hey Hope." Hope looked at her and asked "Yeah, what is it?" She turned to him and held out her pinkie finger towards Hope. He looked at her quizzically and she asked "Will you promise me that we'll always meet here every year when you come over every summer holiday?" Hope looked at Claire before reaching out and replied "I ... I promise, Claire." Hope linked his pinkie around hers and made the promise of a lifetime.


	2. A Massive amount of Plot

For years did Hope and Claire meet up at Bodhum every single year during the summer holidays. Every time Hope and Claire met up, the more they changed. By the time they were thirteen, Hope was finally taller than Claire, but only by a couple of centimetres. Hope was more mature than most boys his age, and he was fairly lanky, but had muscles where it counts. His hair was unruly as ever, and his green-gray eyes had an innocent and pure feel to them, which matched his pure, kind, timid and shy nature.

Claire, on the other hand, grew more beautiful every time Hope saw her, her pink hair growing longer and slightly curly towards the bottom, her figure was becoming more outlined and her bright, misty-blue eyes held a mischievous nature to them, which matched her feistiness, along with having a sense of justice to them. She was always excited to see Hope, and their bond always grew stronger. Claire's little sister, Serah, was a sweet little ten year old that was kind and mischievous in her own little way, which seemed to be a reoccurring family trait. Over the years, Hope's met new friends his age and hung out with them whenever he, Claire and Serah could.

One guy was called Snow, who was gigantic in height and muscle for his young age of thirteen, but had a heart of gold and always wanted to do good things for others. His intelligence often led to him getting punched by a certain pink haired teen, hence everyone calling her 'Lightning' by how fast and hard she punches him, but he'd always apologise and made up for his mistakes. Another guy was called Gadot. Like Snow, he was thirteen, and was huge in the area of height and muscle, but he had more muscle than Snow and wasn't as tall. He was fairly quiet, but he was a great guy with a matching personality. A girl Hope met was a girl called Fang, which, believe it or not, was a rather fitting name for the wild-like thirteen year old. She had a massive amount of Bark and Bite, and had a feisty and mischievous, and you may even say a slightly wild, look in her eye, with a protective and caring nature with a funny bone that always cracks everyone up.

Fang had a 'cousin' called Vanille, who was Serah's best friend and someone Fang was fiercely protective of. She was eleven years old with a chirpy and hyper nature and always makes everyone smile with everything she does. She loves the environment and will stop at nothing to stick up for her friends and family. Another girl was Lebreau, who was twelve years old. She had all of the gossip and was the gang's biggest secret keeper. She had a great sense of humour, with a knack for trouble, but would stand up for what is right and for those she loves.

The last three boys were called Maqui, Yuj and Sazh, twelve, thirteen and seventeen respectively. Maqui was a mechanical whiz but always had a joke up his sleeve. He was slightly smaller than Hope, but had a nasty habit of picking and causing a fight or two with a school bully, causing Snow, Yuj and Gadot, and sometimes even Hope himself, to get involved in the fight. Yuj was a quiet guy, but was calm, cool and understanding with a way to get anyone to snap out of their slumps. Sazh was the oldest of the group and acted like the 'Big Daddy' as everyone called him. He would protect them, treat them occasionally and take care of them, smiling all the way. He had a pet chocobo chick in his afro called 'Chocolina' and was a great guy.

They formed a big group called 'NORA', due to Hope naming it after his mother and made it stand for 'No Obligations, Rules or Authority'. They were the best friends Hope could've ever asked for and he loved every single one of them.

One day, however, when Hope came over a year later, he came with sobering news. Claire, as always, waited at the train station on the day Hope said he was coming. The female voiceover announced _"Train 291 is approaching the station. Please make way on the landing platform for the arriving visitors and line up orderly to board for the return trip back to the city of Palumpolum. Thank you and have a nice day here in sunny Bodhum."_

Claire beamed and stood up from the bench she was sitting on, before making her way eagerly to the landing platform, just as Train 291 pulled up into the ever busy train station. Claire stood on tiptoe and craned her neck, trying to get a glimpse of a silver haired boy of fourteen. She finally saw him and his dad and rushed over to them.

"Hope! HOPE!" Claire cried and Hope turned around, just in time to see a flash of pink hair before she hugged him tightly around the middle. He smiled slightly and said "Hey, Claire! You're still the same as usual I see!" She let go and smirked, saying "You bet!" She turned to Bartholomew and said "It's wonderful to see you Mr. Estheim!" He smiled broadly and replied "The same to you, my dear." She looked around them both from where she stood before she asked "Where's Mrs. Estheim?"

Their smiles faded and Claire frowned. "What's wrong?" Hope looked at her and said in a thick voice "C-Claire ... m-mum's gone. Sh-She died of cancer two and a half months ago."

Time seemed to have stopped, as if it fell into indestructible, crystal sleep. The blurred faces seemed to freeze, then turn to black, only seeing the two men before her and herself in this black abyss of a world. Her eyes were widened and her face was pale, the two Estheims holding only grief and sorrow in their faces. She let out a small "Eh?" and continued staring at them. Hope looked right in her eyes and said "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but it's true. Mum's dead." As if in slow motion, Claire moved forwards and held him firm, but not overly so. "I'm so sorry" she whispered as she held him close, not letting go. Hope's eyes widened slightly before his whole body relaxed, along with his brain, and held her gently back.

Her purity of spirit soothed his troubled heart. Always comforting, always there, she once again swept away his despairing feelings and reminded him that life has only just begun, and more was needed to be done before Death's hand took them all away. She let go and rested her hands on his cheeks, her eyes saddened and concerned for him. She quietly said "Let's go. We can never fall into eternal regret about the things that can't be changed, no matter how much we wish they could." Hope nodded and he and his father walked after her, leaving the station behind, but as they walked out those doors, Hope walked beside Claire, holding her hand.

That holiday was spent on telling his friends about his mother, ending up with his friends organising a private party of their families and friends to celebrate Nora Estheim through her memory, much to Hope and Bartholomew's pleasant surprise, and making a small memorial of her in Claire's backyard, which had lots of bouquets of flowers on it. His friends took him to the beach every day, playing in the sand one day, eating ice-cream on the jetty the next, had movie nights and sleepovers whenever possible, and having a great time, all for Hope's benefit, of which he was eternally grateful for. As per usual, it was sad when Hope had to leave, even sadder when they had to permanently say goodbye to a wonderful, kind and caring mother, who was pure and gentle to the core, ready to fight for those she loved.

The following year, just as the holidays started, two tragedies happened one fine afternoon in sunny Bodhum. Claire stood at the front of her house, a strong, beautiful woman of fifteen, waiting for her parents to depart. Ada, her mother, said to her "There's some pasta you can cook up on the stove for lunch, and we have our mobiles with us, so if you have any problems or questions you want to ask, us can call us whenever you like. Don't forget to pick up your sister from Vanille's house at 2:30, or she'll panic. We should be home by 4:00 this afternoon, got that?" Claire nodded and said in a peppy voice "I hear ya!" Ada smiled and ruffled Claire's hair, saying "That's my girl." Ada and her husband Arthur gave Claire a kiss goodbye.

Her parents got onto a velocycle and rode off. Claire watched them go down the street, when disaster struck. A hover car was driving way too fast and rammed into her parent's velocycle when it tried to brake. Claire watched with widened and scared eyes as she heard her parents scream as they crashed into a lamppost and their velocycle burst into flames.

"MUM! DAD!" Claire screamed as she ran faster than her nickname down the street and to the site. The other vehicle wasn't anywhere near as damaged and the two occupants, a couple of men in their early twenties, got out of the car and tried to help her get them out from the wreckage, but she wouldn't let them, burning herself as she pulled her parents out of the wreckage and cradled their motionless bodies. One of the men called the ambulance and they soon appeared at the site, along with some police officers to ask the men what had happened. The motionless parents and Claire were taken into the ambulance van and driven to the Bodhum Hospital, Ada and Arthur needing emergency treatment immediately.

When they got there, the doctors had to calm down Claire for a whole eight minutes so she wouldn't burst into the emergency room and stay by her parents' sides. After that happened, the nurses forced Claire to undress and change into a hospital gown and placed her under sedative, therefore able to cool down Claire's burns, which resided on her arms, her shins, and on the right side of her face, including around her right eye, and neck, continuously with water for many hours while pumping fluids and antibiotics into her to prevent infection and dehydration. After they were sure that Claire was infection free, they wrapped up her wounds and waited for her to wake up.

Claire woke up and turned her head to the side to see one of the nurses who tended to her, sitting across the room filling out a sheet on a clipboard before looking at her and widening her eyes slightly as she saw Claire was awake before recomposing herself. She got up and walked to Claire's side and said "Good afternoon, Ms. Farron. Your wounds have been taken care of and you're on the road to recovery." Claire nodded slightly and asked slightly croakily "What's the time?" The nurse looked at her wristwatch and said "It's 2:45 right now."

Claire's eyes widened and exclaimed "2:45?! I need to pick up my little sister from a friend's place!" The nurse bit her lip and said slowly "I _could_ get someone to pick her up for you. I'll ask an ambulance driver to bring her here." She got out a pen and a notepad, opening up the notepad and clicking the pen. "What's the address?" she asked her. Claire, happy that this nurse had quick thinking, replied "37 Hecatoncheir Ave. Her name is Serah. Get the ambulance to say that I'm asking her to come here immediately, and if she doesn't want to, tell her she's grounded." The nurse paused in her writing a raised a quizzical eyebrow with a half-smirk on her face. Claire shrugged as much as she could without causing her burns to hurt even more and said "Hey! It always works!" The nurse raised both her eyebrows and jutted her bottom lip forwards before smirking again and writing that all down.

She ripped off the paper and tucked it in her coat's breast pocket and said "I'll hand this to one of my colleagues and they'll pick your sister up. I'll be right back." She disappeared for a few minutes before coming back in and reported "My fiancé, a fellow paramedic, is on his way right now to grab her. Now, all there's left to do is wait for them to come." Claire nodded and she said "Thank you, Ms ...?" The nurse smiled and said "Seeress. Yeul Seeress." Claire smiled and said "Claire. Claire Farron."

After thirteen minutes, a knock came at the door and Yeul called out "Come in." A tall handsome man with scruffy brown hair came in with a twelve year old and panicky Serah beside him. "CLAIRE!" Serah squealed, running to her sister's side. Yeul turned to her fiancé and said sincerely "Thank you, Noel." Noel smiled and replied "No worries; honey! She was a good girl." He turned to the sisters and said "Take care you two. Hope you get better soon." Claire smiled and said "Thanks!" before she remembered and asked fearfully "Is mum and dad okay?" Noel frowned and said "I don't know. I'll ask them now." He left the room, leaving the girls in silence.

Serah asked "What happened to you guys?" Claire replied sadly "A velocycle accident. A car was speeding and accidently hit mum and dad, even when the driver tried to brake. Mum and dad hit a lamppost and the velocycle burst into flames. I ran over and got mum and dad out, which is why I'm burnt, and the driver of the other vehicle call the paramedics and the passenger called the police so they could answer questions and report what happened immediately to them. Mum and dad are in the emergency room right now, so we can't see them."

Serah nodded, crestfallen and sorrowed. Noel re-entered the room and said "They're going to be in the emergency room for at least a few more hours. It's going to be a long waiting game." The women nodded and prepared for the night to come.

It was 6:35 when Noel came in to say the verdict; but Noel asked for Yeul to take Serah outside so he could speak to Claire in private. Yeul took the hint and guided Serah outside, a distant look in her eye, and closed the door. Claire looked at him and asked "Well?" He looked at the ground and said "I'm sorry." He looked into her eyes and finished off "They'd both passed away thirty minutes ago, towards the end of their operation."

Again, time froze, set into crystal stasis. Everything around her was a bright, white light, with nothing left in sight. Her widened eyes cried without blinking, without her knowing, and all at once, Claire's world came crashing down, replaced by a desolate, barren wasteland where happiness and joy didn't exist. She let out a small "Eh?" and Noel's eyes softened. "I'm so sorry," he said, "I can't tell your little sister; and neither can Yeul, so you'll need to tell your sister yourself." She nodded blankly and said quietly "Bring her in." He nodded and stood up, crossed the room and opened the door for the waiting pair to come in.

Serah came in before Yeul, and Yeul shut the door behind them. Claire motioned for Serah to come to her, a gesture her sister obeyed. Yeul looked sadly at Noel and he solemnly shook his head, both of them looking down at the ground with sorrow and the guilt of knowing what had happened to Serah's parents before she did, the one who would be the last to know. Claire sat up higher than before and said "Serah, come and sit on my lap, okay?" Serah nodded uncertainly but nonetheless the followed her sister's request and sat on her lap.

Claire wrapped her arms loosely around her and said "Serah. When I tell you what's happened to mum and dad, you may cry, but be strong, okay?" She nodded and said "Yes" with fearful anticipation of finding out what's happened to her parents. Claire sighed, looked down at her now occupied lap before looking at her sister straight in the eye sadly and revealed "Serah ... mum and dad ... have passed away."

Serah's eyes grew wide, her face paled to the look of death and her whole body started shaking violently. Serah stuttered "N-No! Th-They can't be-!" Claire looked down and turned her head away from her sister, closing her eyes (including her bandaged one), and Serah went on, shaking Claire's shoulders without aggravating her third degree burns "For God's _sake_ Claire, _please_ tell me it's not true!" Serah stopped shaking her and, without so much as moving her head, Claire opened up her eyes and said quietly to her little sister "I'm sorry."

Serah looked at her with tears filling her eyes before burying her face in Claire's chest while crying out "NO!", bawling her eyes out all over Claire. Claire looked back at Serah finally and held her close to her, never letting go, their only comfort being in each other. Noel and Yeul looked at each other, nodded and left the room, Serah's cries heard loud and clear as they walked down the hallway, their own tears threatening to fall with each echoing footstep they took. They went back slightly later with some take-out for them to find Serah asleep in Claire's arms, Claire staring down sadly at her. Noel gently placed the 'Chocobo Cheeseburgers' bag down on the bedside table and asked "You holding up okay?"

She nodded and quietly replied "Y-Yeah; I'm fine", causing Noel and Yeul to sigh. Yeul asked her "Do you want to call someone you trust to come for you right now, to see how you are?" Claire racked her brains; but she couldn't find anyone. She strangely didn't want to see anyone in her friendship group right now, let alone their parents or relatives. However, as she was about to say no, an idea came to mind.

Hope.

He'd lost his mother, just last year, so he would be able to sympathise with her and understand what she was going through. He may not have lost both, but he adored his mother slightly more than his father, so her death had crushed him, buried him beneath the giant pile of rubble he'd call his 'heart'. She said "Yes. I have someone I want to call. Can you please get me the phone?"

Hope was fast asleep in Palumpolum, many miles away from Bodhum. It was 12:35 at night for the people of Palumpolum, the late night travellers walking down the main streets while the occasional drunk was slumped in an alleyway with groups of teenagers and young adults going to downtown to party and possibly get laid, washed down with a big bottle of cheap whiskey. Hope, a ridiculously tall fifteen year old of 6'3 when just the previous year he was 5'0, was awakened by the sound of his mobile going off, playing 'The Telephone Fairy' ringtone, causing him to jump the phone and quickly answer it before it started swearing.

"Hello?" Hope's now broken voice asked. "Hello, it's Claire Farron here, is this the residence of Hope Estheim?" He frowned and said "Claire? It _is_ me, Hope. Can't you recognise me over the phone?" "Hope?!" Claire asked incredulously, "What's happened to your voice? Are you unwell?" Hope chuckled and replied "No, my voice had broken five and a half months ago." "Oh!" Claire exclaimed slightly and gave a weak chuckle over the phone, but it sounded between a chuckle and a sob. He gave a concerned frown and asked "What's wrong, Claire? Has something happened?"

She sobbed and Hope's frown furrowed and his eyes widened. She managed to finally say "I wish you will come soon. Hope." She paused, gulping thickly over the phone, "Mum and dad are dead." He slightly gasped and his jaw dropped, shocked. "_Both_ of them?!" he whispered urgently. A pause was heard before she replied "Both of them." Hope's expression remained the same and he asked "W-What about Serah?!" She quickly said "She's fine. She was at Vanille's house when the accident happened." He nodded and asked "What happened?" She sighed and replied:

"A speeding hover car crashed into my parents, who were riding their velocycle, at the T junction right down from where our house is. I got burnt rather badly when I ran to the crash site and pulled mum and dad out of the wreckage while the two men in the other vehicle called the police and the ambulance. They died here at Bodhum Hospital thirty minutes ago at 6:05 pm." Hope nodded and said "I see. So over here; they died at 12:05 am." Claire exclaimed "It's _that_ late over there?! Oh Hope, I'm so, so sorry! I-"

"Claire," he cut over her, "I'm coming right now. I'll leave a message for my dad, just hold on." She begged him "No! Wait! Hope, don't hang-" Hope hung up the phone and got out of bed, dressed in a loose, thin, grey T-shirt, black tracksuit pants with two white stripes on the side and grey socks. He pulled on a pair of black sneakers with white Nike symbols on them and a black hoodie and started packing his backpack. Spare clothes, check. Toothbrush and toothpaste, check. Brush, check. Favourite soap, 'Lux', check. Deodorant, aerosol and roll-on, check. Razor, nah, he wanted some manly stubble like Snow's, which he was pleased to say; he was already getting.

Wallet with student ID and choco-block full of cash in his tracksuit pocket, check. Switchblade-knife in his other tracksuit pocket, check. Spare knife in his right sock, check. Hey, the streets are dangerous in Palumpolum, give him a break! Mobile phone in his pocket with his wallet, check. Mobile phone charger in his backpack, check. Boomerang in his backpack, check. He quickly left a note explaining everything to his father before sneaking out the front door and silently closing it behind him. Looking left, and right, Hope put on his backpack and his hood and headed to the train station.

He paid for his ticket and got on the 291, heading straight for Bodhum. It took nearly two and a half hours to get to Bodhum, so it'd be around 10:00 pm when he'd get there. As usual; he sat in the same seat he's sat on every year he goes to Bodhum: sixth row from the back on his left hand side, facing the front of the train, while looking out of the window. He'd always think of the past whenever he looked out of the train's window. However, the past year and now this year itself, he thought about those he cared about die. Last year it was his mother, the parent he was more attached to, and now this year, his best friend's parents, who'd died in an accident they didn't cause. He hoped Ada and Arthur were with his mother Nora by now. Who knows, maybe even Hope will join them one day.

After a delay involving some unexpected snow in the Vile Peaks, the train came at 11:35 pm instead. Hope walked out of the station and into the streets. After a while of walking, Hope finally reached Bodhum Hospital and hurried inside, trying _not_ to look like he wanted to run through the corridors of a peaceful, quiet hospital to find his best friend, who had lost her parents and now only had her little sister left alive.

He walked up to the middle-aged front desk secretary and, surprisingly, calmly said instead of going mad "Excuse me, madam. I wish to find the ward that Ms. Claire Farron currently resides in." She looks up from her work up at him before looking through the patients list and said "Ah yes. Ms. Farron is currently in the Burns Ward upstairs on Level 3A, Room A1031 with her nurse being Ms. Yeul Seeress." He smiled broadly and politely and said "Thank you, madam. Good evening to you." She smiled back with a nod of her head before returning to her work.

Hope briskly strode down the corridor to the elevators before getting into a vacant one and pressing the button for Level 3A. He tapped his foot impatiently until a few moments passed and the doors opened. He got out and half strode, half jogged down through the Burns Ward corridor before stopping outside Room A1031, Nurse Seeress' room, and knocked on the door. A young woman's voice called out "Come in!" and Hope took that as his cue. He opened the door and stood in the threshold before stepping inside the room and closing the door behind him without turning around to do so.

There were three females and one man in the room, the male and one of the females dressed up as paramedics while the other two females had pink hair, one in casual clothes and the other sitting up in a hospital bed in a medical gown with bandages seen on her arms, face and neck. The smaller pinkette jumped up and ran to Hope, hugging him tightly around the waist. "HOPE!" the preteen cried, hugging him even tighter the longer she spent in his arms. He rested a hand on the top of her head and another around her shoulders and he warmly said in his deep voice "Hey, Serah. It's okay; I'm here."

They let go and Hope wiped away the rest of her tears before looking at Serah's bedridden older sister. Claire was in shock and exclaimed "You really _did_ just leave Palumpolum at _12:35_ at night to come here and be with us?!" He nodded and she lightly scolded "I _told_ you that you could've waited, but you hung up on me and came over anyway! You do _realise_ your father is going to flip, right?" He shrugged and half-smiled, replying "Hey, you guys are worth it." She weakly half-smiled back before looking sullen and sad. Serah yawned tiredly and mumbled something about being tired and sleepy, leaning on Hope for support. Hope took the hint and asked Noel "Hey, can you please organise a bed for her? We don't want her to faint from lack of sleep." He nodded and said "Sure!" before going out of the room.

A little while later, Noel came in and told Hope a room that she could sleep in. Hope picked her up bridal style and she fell asleep before Hope even took two paces to the door, and he left the room for the next, walked up to the bed in it and tucked her in. He walked to Claire's bed and asked "How are you feeling?" Claire shrugged and replied "O-Okay; I guess." He sighed and said "I know you better than that, Claire. You aren't okay, aren't you?" She sighed in defeat and replied exasperated "N-No, I'm not. In fact, I feel bloody awful." Hope nodded and the two paramedics decided to leave the young teens alone.

Noel closed the door after them and the two friends stayed where they were in an unsettling silence. Hope dragged a chair to her side and sat down, looking at her sadly and concerned. "Have the others been notified of your parents' ... passing?" Claire shook her head and replied "No. I ... I didn't want them here, if you know what I mean." Hope sighed and looked at the floor, bypassing his clasped hands, and answered her "Oh, yes. I do." Claire looked up at before Hope launched off his story to her.

"I didn't want any of my friends in Palumpolum to see me and give me sympathy. I didn't even want to see my own father. I didn't want to bother you guys about my mother's death, so I didn't call you guys at all in case I broke down, except the time I called you to give you the details of when I was coming. I locked myself up in my house for the next two and a half months, coming out only for food and using the bathroom. My dad dropped off my homework every day, which I did quickly before going back to lying on my back, staring at the ceiling hour after hour, in slight disbelief that I'd just seen my mother die in front of my eyes as I held her hand with tears streaming down my face."

Claire never heard his story before and watched him with staring eyes as he stared blankly at his fiddling and clenching hands. "When that disbelief faded away after her funeral, as I saw her being buried six feet underground, I walked out in the middle of the night through the city, dressed in the black tuxedo and tie I wore to the funeral, to figure out my feelings for myself. By the end of it, I came back home, reeking of cheap booze, before passing out in the bathroom with the door open, my jacket buttons undone and my face resting against the toilet seat with vomit on the side of my mouth and the toilet unflushed."

Claire's jaw dropped and she pulled him by the front of his mostly zipped up hoodie, causing him to fall of his chair slightly she kneeled upright, facing him on her bed with a seething expression on her face and screeched "WHAT?! YOU DECIDED TO GET DRUNK AFTER THE DEATH OF YOUR MOTHER?! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU _THINKING_?!" "Shh!" Hope replied, trying to calm her down, "Claire, I know you're mad, but if you don't keep quiet; you'll wake up-"

But she wasn't done yet.

"I DON'T CARE _WHO_ I WAKE UP! YOU GOT_ DRUNK_ AT _THIRTEEN_, _JUST_ BEFORE YOUR FOURTEENTH BIRTHDAY! AND I'M _WAY _BEYOND MAD WITH YOU MISTER! AND ON TOP OF THAT, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME BEFOREHAND WHAT YOU DID?! DON'T YOU _TRUST_ ME TO KEEP THINGS LIKE THAT SECRET?! I THOUGHT WE COULD TELL EACH OTHER ANYTHING! _ANYTHING_! WHY COULDN'T YOU TELL ME, I WOULD'VE-!"

She couldn't finish the sentence when Hope silenced her, with a full-on kiss to the lips.

Her death-wish glare was almost immediately taken over by extreme surprise and shock, her face paled, her eyes wide with an unfamiliar sensation in her stomach. For the second time that day, time was frozen in crystallised stasis with nothing but white in surrounding them, nothing else mattered. Hope had both hands on either side of her face, cupping them gently, adding a little more pressure to ensure she'll stay quiet.

He pulled away and said "I do trust you, Clare. I was just scared of telling you this because I didn't want to be viewed any different to you all than what you all first saw me as." Clare just stared at him and he continued "I'm going to tell you now, I'll live with you and your sister for the rest of the summer and I'll help support you financially with my father's help. After I complete High School, I'll be going to the University of Palumpolum, but I want to live with you and help you in any way I can."

Clare opened her lips but nothing came out, as he had taken her breath away. He hugged her gently and murmured "You need some sleep. I'll be right here, watching over you, okay?" She nodded and replied "Thank you, Hope." Hope helped her get snug into bed and tucked her in. As she just drifted off to sleep, Hope kissed her cheek and whispered "Pleasant dreams." He sat back in his chair, staying awake for her sake.

Back in Palumpolum, twenty-five minutes later, Bartholomew walked downstairs at six in the morning for work to find a note on the table. He picked it up and read:

_Dear Dad,_

_I'm sorry that I had to tell you this way, but I didn't have time to wake you up for this very important, and urgent, matter._

_Claire is in hospital for severe burn wounds in Bodhum when she pulled her parents out of a velocycle/hover car crash. Her parents were travelling normally in their velocycle when a pair of men in a hover car accidentally crashed into them at a nearby T section because of speeding. Despite her efforts, they died in hospital at 6:05, BST (Bodhum Standard Time)._

_I left at 12:35 this morning and I'm staying over with them for the rest of the holidays. Also, I've decided to live in Bodhum during my university years with Claire and Serah, and help them financially until they are going to be okay money wise._

_I'll see you soon, either today, tomorrow, next week or the end of the holidays._

_Love you lots,_

_Hope._

Bartholomew sighed sadly for the girls and said out loud to no one "You've done well, son. I'm proud of you. I will see you next week."

Bartholomew went to visit Claire and Serah for the first time in a year at the hospital while Hope was confirming that Claire, who was no longer covered by bandages, would leave that afternoon. Snow, Fang and Vanille visited as well and Snow said "Hey sis, you okay?" She replied with a half smirk "I'm not your sister, but yeah, I'm doing good." Fang said "I'm sorry we couldn't visit earlier. The whole gang has been putting together a few things." Claire shook her head and said "That's alright." Vanille turned to Serah and asked "When's Hope coming over?" Serah replied "Hope's here at the hospital. He's been here all week, helping us out with mum and dad's death. Sis let him know first out of all you guys."

The other two of the trio were about to say something when Hope came in. He saw his three friends and smiled. "Hey guys! Long time, no see!" They did a double take and Snow exclaimed "Whoa! Hope; is that you? You're getting big now aren't ya?!" He smirked and gave Snow a man hug, saying "No shit, Sherlock! I'm nearly as tall as you now!" They laughed and Fang pumped fists with him before giving him a tomboy man hug. Vanille hugged him the same way Serah did when he first came to the hospital before the doors opened again and Bartholomew entered the room.

The group greeted him friendly and Hope apologised "I'm so sorry for leaving dad! But I couldn't leave Claire and Serah like this! I-..." "Hope," his father interrupted gently, "You don't need to apologise. I would've done the same in your situation had someone I cared about suffered the same fate as these poor girls did." He turned to the Farron girls and said "I'm so sorry for your losses. Arthur and Ada were great people."

Claire nodded and replied "Thank you, Mr. Estheim." He nodded back and asked "When's the funeral?" Fang answered this time and said "Two and a half weeks from now. The whole community's chipped in with it, Ada and Arthur were well respected and loved dearly." Bartholomew nodded and said "I'll attend the funeral and cover anything financial for you two for as long as you need." Claire replied "I don't want to burden you, but thank you." Bartholomew shook his head and he said "I have more than enough money to support you two for a lifetime."

Claire smiled and said "Thank you!" Yeul came in and said "You're free to go now, Claire." "Thank you, Yeul," Claire replied "Come on guys, let's go."

NORA had put a memorial next to Nora's in Arthur and Ada's memory and the funeral was held two and a half weeks later. It was an open coffin funeral, and Serah and Claire could see their parents one last time before they were cremated, with Claire, Serah, Snow, Fang, Vanille, Sazh and Hope going into the stilled sea of Bodhum on surfboards to scatter their ashes, Serah scattering their mother, Claire scattering their father. Claire comforted Serah, who was crying, but didn't shed any tears for herself.

That night, Claire, Serah and Hope were sitting together, watching TV and eating pizza, garlic bread and drinking Coke, but no one was really paying attention. After that, Claire helped getting Serah to bed upstairs and Claire bade Hope goodnight before walking towards her room but stopped to look into her parents' room.

She leaned her head on the door frame, sorrowed, and remembered her parents' best times, smiling and laughing with her, and with Serah. Tears fell down her face and said cursed in a whispered voice "D-Dammit!" before sobbing quietly and headed into the room, muffling as many sobs as she could into her parents' pillows as she lay across their bed, smelling their lingering scents.

Hope walked up the stairs and down the hallway, stopping beside the door to Arthur and Ada's room. He saw Claire muffling her crying and walked in, gently sitting down on the bed and started rubbing her back. "It's okay, Claire," he murmured soothingly, "let it all out." She cried for a good ten to fifteen minutes until she had no more tears to shed. She sniffled and laid down on the middle of the bed, facing the wall, and Hope pulled the covers over her. However, Hope got in as well and snuggled next to Claire, wrapping his arms gently and loosely around her waist and facing her back. Her breath hitched and she asked in a watery voice "Hope, what are you doing?" He replied in a murmured voice "You need someone to be with you right now. Just relax ... close your eyes and go to sleep."

Clare paused but then nodded, closing her eyes and falling asleep peacefully, a smile on her face as she thought not of her parents, but of the boy turning into a man beside her, keeping her safe, and the one who gave her, her first kiss.

The holidays had ended and Hope had to leave, causing the Farron girls to be heartbroken as per usual. But this time; it was different. The girls now had no parents, and Clare now had to work.

She's always wanted to be a soldier, and now's the time to be one.

Claire Farron no longer existed.

'Lightning' Farron had taken place.

The next year, Private Lightning Farron waited at the train station for Hope to come back for the holidays. She had grown pretty serious over the year, but certainly still enjoys her time with her friends and Serah. However, Serah has started dating Snow and she wasn't particularly _**happy**_ about her sister dating, let alone it being Snow. When Serah and Snow told her the news, she nearly castrated Snow with her trusty gunblade.

She looked up, her bangs covering the left side of her face as the announcer called out _"Train 291 is approaching the station. Please make way on the landing platform for the arriving visitors and line up orderly to board for the return trip back to the city of Palumpolum. Thank you and have a nice day here in sunny Bodhum."_

She walked forwards towards the platform, dressed in her soldier garbs, which fitted her nearly fully grown curves, and waited for Bartholomew and Hope to arrive and get off the train. The train arrived and the tourists got off in a crowd, pouring onto the station. Lightning spotted Hope's unmistakable silver hair and walked towards him, unable to wait and see how much he's grown.

She saw both Hope and Bartholomew wearing suits, Bartholomew's usual black business suit and tie and Hope was wearing a sapphire blue business suit and tie, looking more handsome than ever. Lightning called out to them "Mr. Estheim, Hope!"

They turned to her and Claire noticed that Hope was at least 6'6 now, with small sideburns and stubble on his chin, looking incredibly handsome. He smiled and exclaimed "Claire! It's so great to see you!" She smiled slightly meekly and said "Well, nowadays; I'm called by my preferred name; my nickname 'Lightning', since I joined the Guardian Corps, but you two and NORA can still call me that." Hope frowned in interest and asked "You joined the Guardian Corps? When?" Lightning replied "Three and a half months after you guys left. I'm now Private Lightning Farron of the Guardian Corps, training under Sergeant Amodar."

Hope smiled and said "Impressive! But no matter what, you'll always be the same little Claire I met eleven summers ago!" She smirked and poked his forehead, having to reach up as she stopped growing as a woman of 5'7. She replied "And you're still the shy, midget boy _I_ met eleven summers ago." He lightly ruffled her hair like usual with a cheeky grin on his face, causing her to wear a deadpan facial expression before poking her tongue out at him, Hope copying her while still smiling him toothy grin. She smiled back, the happiest smile and feeling she's felt since a year ago.

Oh how much she had missed him.

Hope had gotten into university before he turned sixteen, due to his genius-level academic scores, as well as his incredible P.E, Home Ec. and Music talents, and is now the youngest person to work in his father's company, Estheim Inc., a company that focuses on upgrading everything electrical and mechanical, but he only worked occasionally. NORA was surprised at this but nonetheless impressed and proud of him, but none were more proud and impressed than Claire.

Like last time, Hope stayed at Claire and Serah's house and Bartholomew popped over occasionally from his hotel room, because he didn't want to invaded on the teenagers' time together. When they got home, Claire dressed in some black sweatpants, a baggy, white polo shirt and white and black trainers. Hope got changed into a pair of black tracksuit pants with two white stripes down the sides, white and black sneakers and a grey polo shirt and said "Hey Light, I'm heading to the hideout, you wanna come?" Claire replied "Sure! I was gonna go and see Serah anyway. She's just spending some time with her ... _boyfriend_." Hope frowned in curiosity and asked "Who's her boyfriend?" Claire replied "Snow."

Hope snorted and started laughing ... hard. Claire glared at him and said "It's _not_,_ funny_!" Hope smirked and said "It is. He's fancied her since she was eight!" Claire said nothing. She was too disgusted and shocked. Hope continued brightly "Well, let's get going!" The two pulled on black hoodies with the hoods shadowing the upper halves of their faces and were undone.

They left the house and headed to the NORA hideout, which was an abandoned backstreet apartment building of five floors with a garage and a basement in the slums, so nobody cared who used it, and NORA marked it as their official turf. When Sazh turned eighteen, he bought it cheap and it was made legal territory. They were walking down an alleyway when some evil and smug laughter caused them to turn around, unknowing of who was trying to gank them this time.

It was a group of seven people, five guys, two girls and the leader with his hand on his bitch's hip came into view. It was their usual prick-of-the-year, Fred Stabber, nicknamed Slender. Slender called to his cronies "Well guys, looks like we've got some NORA scum." They started jeering and Hope stepped forwards and back-chatted in his deep voice "If there's any scum around here; it's you, Slender." He snarled and sneered back "I'm gonna beat your ass, punk!" He let go of his girl and started forwards towards them with a switchblade-knife. Hope pulled out his own and growled "Bring it, you bastard!"

Slender charged at Hope and slashed down onto him, causing Hope to parry the attack and use his left fist to collide into his gut, causing him to double-over. Hope then punched his head with his right hook, uppercut with his left and grabbed his head, chucking it into the ground and the wall of the alleyway. He fell to the ground, knocked out, and the other four guys jumped Hope, trying to pin him down. Hope got punched in the head by a gorilla-looking bloke and Hope threw off the guys holding his arms and cracked him in the jaw.

Lightning joined in and Falco Punched the guy in the head, sending him stumbling into the wall, before kicking him in the face, knocking him out. She jumped one that was lunging towards Hope and wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, choking him until he passed out. Hope smashed the last guy's jaw and kneed his head in, before kicking him in the gut and whacking the base of his neck. He spun around and called out "Lightning, LOOK OUT!" and she spun around before everything went black.

Lightning woke up on a couch, with a blur of people around her. She blinked a couple of times and she saw Serah, Snow and Sazh around her. She sat bolt upright and demanded "What happened?" Sazh motioned his hands downwards so she could calm down and said "Don't worry, soldier girl. The baddies are in the slammer." Lightning exclaimed "What?!" Snow continued "Hope knocked out the guy who struck your head and he bound them up and called the Guardian Corps. They were going to take you back but Hope said he'll take care of you, and that you deserve a promotion."

Lightning asked slowly "Then how am I here?" Serah replied "Hope carried you back here and took care of you. He's just in the other room with Fang and Vanille, grabbing some snacks." After she said that, the mentioned trio came into the room with a few big bowls of chips, some bottles of soft drink and glasses, heated up left over pizza and garlic bread, and chicken and chips. Hope saw Lightning, dumped the soft drinks and glasses in his hands and exclaimed "Lightning! Are you okay?" She nodded, smiled and replied "I'm good, thanks to you."

He smiled back and said "No problem. Let's chow down, guys." They started snacking away and Maqui, Yuj, Lebreau and Gadot came in, with their backpacks on and their switchblade-knives out, panting. Hope looked up and demanded "What happened to _you_ guys?!" Yuj replied "We just managed to beat up some PSICOM infiltration units and handed them over to the Guardian Corps. They were trying to ambush us."

The group looked stunned at them.

PSICOM were the anti-government army that controlled a neighbouring continent that kept trying to overthrow the Guardian Corps and the government so they can make a world of tyranny. NORA have been helping the Guardian Corps and private government forces to take them down for years, but now the PSICOM threat was extremely high, even in the summer.

The Guardian Corps have actually allowed the NORA gang to recruit members if need be and have a permit to wield weapons, including Serah, who was only thirteen, causing Lightning to get rather mad. Snow, who also agreed with her to a degree, said that Serah is in danger just by being in NORA and having her last living relative in it as well, so he said she needed to be prepared. Lightning still wasn't happy, but nonetheless agreed to Serah using weaponry.

"Did they know you guys were part of NORA?" Snow asked. Gadot shook his head and replied "No. We were in their way of their mission to kill our government officials. They didn't know we were NORA, and they still don't." They let out a simultaneous sigh of relief and Maqui took off his backpack and said "We got some weapons from an abandoned warehouse, cargo bay and hanger bay with many other rooms we found underneath the Slums. Seriously, it was like the Slums had a worse Slum underneath it."

Lightning asked "What weapons did you get?" Maqui replied as he undid his backpack "Knives, daggers, claws and pistols. However, there were lots motorcycles, velocycles and some other vehicles, a few fighter planes and a cargo ship down there as well, along with heavy equipment like machine guns, bazookas, shotguns, bowswords, gunblades, explosives, you name it! It's a treasure trove of weapons!"

As everyone gaped at them, Lebreau chipped in "We found security passes down there as well, so we changed the lock password, the password to the main computer, everything! We even found a secret exit a couple of streets away in case of an emergency and the entrances are well hidden, so it's ours now."

They took out the weapons and food they were bringing along for lunch and Sazh whistled at the sight. Sazh then said "Put them in the store room on the first floor." The four arrivals nodded and did so before quickly coming back into the basement. "We need to head down to our new secret base and load up as many weapons as we can back here without looking too suspicious." Sazh said immediately. Fang nodded and added "Snow and Gadot can carry the big stuff through the secret exit and I'll head down there with Lebreau, Lightning and Serah to get the lighter weapons and some of the gadgets down there. While that's happening, you guys that ain't carrying anything can keep a look out for trouble."

Hope nodded and said "Sounds like a plan. We'll stop at vantage points on the rooftops and in alleyways in pairs, Sazh and Vanille, Maqui and I. Sazh and I will take to the rooftops and Vanille and Maqui will take the alleyways. It'll be safer if we kept in visual contact with our partner and we'll use earpieces to keep in contact with each other." Fang smirked and replied "Alrighty then. Let's grab some earpieces, backpacks and head out!"

They all grabbed some earpieces and a large camping backpack each and headed out, the girls, Maqui and Hope headed in one direction, the boys, Sazh and Vanille headed in another.

Maqui hid in a nearby alleyway from the cargo bay armed with claws and a pistol while Hope climbed a fire escape to the top of a rooftop, keeping a look out with his switchblade-knife and a pistol. Lebreau opened up the cargo bay door and the other three girls gasped in awe at the place, while Fang murmured "Holy mother of God."

Crates of tools, gadgets and spare parts were stacked high and wide in rows and weapon cabinets lined along the walls. A cargo ship was in the hanger bay, along with the fighter ships, and two garages were filled with velocycles, motorcycles, hover cars, hover boards and rocket boots. There were even a few tanks in a loading bay and there was a control room, a boardroom, a practise arena and some sleeping quarters with a large kitchen and bar, a recreation room and bathrooms that could easily take care of about fifty to a hundred and fifty people.

"WOW!" Serah exclaimed, looking around while spinning, "We could have a _whole army_ use this stuff!" Lightning muttered while taking in everything "You're telling me." Fang picked up a red and black double ended lance and said "Now _this_ is a weapon!" Serah picked up a bowsword and exclaimed "This is perfect!" Lightning picked up a Blazefire Saber, a really good gunblade, and smirked. "This is now one of my favourite places on Cocoon!" she declared. Lebreau got a multi gun and said merely "Dibs."

They started filling their packs with weapons and anything that could be used in battle. Lightning packed some switchblade-knives, smoke screen cans, pistols, ammunition, shotguns and grenades while Fang packed rifles, bowie knives, hunting knives, machetes, grenades, ammunition, shotguns and pistols. Lebreau got some machine guns, shotguns, pistols, ammunition, grenades and some gunblades, while Serah snagged boomerangs, grenades, ammunition, manadrives, rifles, rods and pistols. They grabbed their new, personal weapons and the packed ones and headed out, Lebreau notifying Hope and Maqui that they were coming out, locking the door behind them and made their way safely to the hideout.

They got to the hideout safely with Maqui and Hope coming back soon after and they waited for Snow and Gadot to get back with Sazh and Vanille.

The said quartet appeared and Sazh said "Alright, unload the gear in the basement into separate matching piles and we'll stock up over the next few weeks." They all headed from the ground floor to the basement and started unpacking the weapons and gear.

Snow and Gadot had a couple of bazookas, Gatling guns, snipers, shotguns, rifles, ammunition, Buster Swords, lances, claws, grenades and manadrives, as well as some med kits with some potions, phoenix down, anti-venom, bandages, ether, elixirs and various medicines and tablets.

Hope counted up what they had gotten and said "Alright, we'll start off with the heavy weaponry. We have two bazookas, four Gatling guns, three Buster Swords and five lances, not including Fang's. For medium weaponry, we have twenty-three shotguns, eighteen rifles, seven rods, not including Vanille's, six machine guns and six gunblades, not including Light's. With the light weaponry, we have five snipers, twenty-four pairs of claws, thirteen switchblade-knives, seventeen bowie knives, nine machetes, sixteen hunting knives, twelve boomerangs, not including the one I took, and twenty-nine pistols."

The group looked pretty impressed with themselves and Hope continued "For gadgets, we have one hundred and forty-four grenades, six twenty-four packs of them, a sixteen pack of smoke screen cans, thirty-six manadrives and countless packs of ammo for all of the weapons here. And to top everything off, we have five med kits with various things required on the battle field."

Snow remarked "A pretty good haul then." Hope nodded and replied "Yeah. Let's store it with the others." They headed up past the ground floor to the first floor, stacking the weapons neatly into the weapon shelves they'd installed earlier in their years together. It looked more like an armoury now than an apartment floor. The hideout could accommodate new recruits when they got to that stage, but for now, the NORA gang were just focused on setting up for an eventual PSICOM invasion.

They headed back downstairs and the group started snacking down on the food they had started on before the discovery of the massive underground cargo and hanger bay. They decided to stay at the apartment for the night and Lightning called Sergeant Amodar to see if they could have ownership of the new property. He granted it after checking with his officials and he said that'll save the Guardian Corps from spending money on supplying NORA.

The group slept on the first floor in separate rooms, except Fang and Vanille who slept next to each other. However, Lightning couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, before waking up on her back, covered in cold sweat. She got up, dressed in her baggy white polo shirt and a pair of black short shorts and headed downstairs to the kitchen, grabbing some bottles of water from the fridge, along with some apples, bananas, pears, vanilla yoghurt and strawberry yoghurt and headed back upstairs and into her room, filling up her mini-fridge.

Lightning drunk some water from one of the drink bottles and rubbed her face with her free hand. She sighed and placed the bottle and lid on her bedside table, just as Hope opened her door. She looked up at him and he asked "Can't sleep?" Lightning grimaced and replied flatly "Yeah. Haven't slept well since my parents' deaths. Despite the financial help you've given us, I still had to be strong for Serah."

Hope sat down next to her and she continued "I distracted myself from thinking about them by becoming the best student at the Guardian Corps. I've never let myself mourn my parents' passing, so I could be strong for Serah, but it's been hard to not mourn them and I just wish to let my emotions out, to stop the pain. But I can't, otherwise Serah will have to take care of _me_, not the other way round, and she'll be just as lost as I am."

Hope nodded and said "You need to allow yourself to mourn your parents. If you don't, you will be more lost than anything else." She remained looking towards the ground but tears began to fall down her face and onto the ground. Hope picked up her blanket, wrapped it around her shoulders and hugged her as she started to cry with gritted teeth. He picked her up bridal style with the blanket around her and carried out of the room, up four flights of stairs and onto the rooftop, the stars shining above.

He placed her gently onto the roof and continued to comfort her until all of her tears subsided. Hope asked her gently "You good now?" Claire nodded and wiped away her tears. "Thank you, Hope," she said in a watery voice, "I don't know what I'd do without you in my life." He smiled gently and kindly and hugged her as she did the same to him. Claire murmured "I wish that you never leave here when the holidays finish. Whenever we're apart, I just feel a part of me fade away. And I just watch the trains arrive and depart every day, hoping you'll come back to stay." He looked to the sky with a smile and said "You said that while a shooting star was passing."

She looked up at him and he looked down at her. He said "I made a promise to you that once I was in uni that I'd come back here to live with you. And I can now officially say ... 'Your wish came true.'"

She eyes widened before a large smile was plastered on her face. She jumped him into a hug with a laugh, sending themselves onto the rooftop with Claire on top of Hope and wrapped her arms around his neck. He wound his arms around her back and hugged her back, happy that the future he promised her came true.

And on that night, Hope and Claire finally got to say what they've always wanted to tell each other.

'I love you.'

Hope left early in the morning and came back at night for two whole years, doing his university work and spending any time he could spend with his friends and his girlfriend. Sometimes he went to work at his father's company, but he was always home in time for dinner. Claire 'Lightning' Farron loved him more than anything, and they always spent the weekends with each other, and when holidays came around, that was no exception. They fought any PSICOM soldiers that came to Bodhum and were the best tag-team imaginable.

They were inseparable.

Until the beginning of the holidays when Hope and Claire were eighteen, Hope's father couldn't arrive due to an unknown, incurable disease.

Hope got the call at midnight and Claire, who was sleeping with him, convinced him to go back to Palumpolum straight away to go to his father, telling him that they'll come to Palumpolum later on. He did as she asked and left with his small briefcase and dressed in his sapphire blue suit.

At noon, the original NORA gang (they had some new recruits join their cause) left for Palumpolum, which would be their first time being there. After the two and a half hour trip, the group jumped off the 291 and left for the Palumpolum Hospital in three different taxis, Claire, Snow and Serah in one, Sazh, Fang and Vanille in another, and Gadot, Lebreau, Yuj and Maqui in the last one.

They arrived at the massive hospital and paid the fare, grabbing their bags and heading into the hospital. Lightning went to the front desk and said "Good morning, madam. May I please know the ward of which Mr. Bartholomew Estheim currently resides?" The lady nodded and politely replied "Of course, you may. He resides in the Disease Ward, Room 4091C." Lightning smiled and said "Thank you, madam. Good day to you."

They took the elevator to the seventh floor and they hopped out before heading to the room '4091C'. They knocked on the door and Hope soon opened it up and let the NORA gang in. Hope pecked Claire on the lips and said "I'm so grateful you guys are here. Dad ... doesn't have long."

They all guessed what that meant and they all looked severely saddened. They gathered around Bartholomew's bed and looked down at him.

He was pale with a yellow tint and had sullen eyes and greying hair, stuck underneath white blankets. He smiled weakly at the NORA gang and said in the same manner "Hello, kids! You hanging up alright?"

Claire nodded and replied "We're going okay, Mr. Estheim." His smile widened slightly and said "Please, call me Bartholomew. I don't have long, but please do me that request." They looked even more saddened but Claire nonetheless replied "Of course, Bartholomew." He nodded and turned to his son.

"Son," he began, "when I go, my company will be yours to run."

Hope looked up, shocked and stammered "B-But dad! I need to stay in Bodhum to help fight in NORA. How can I help NORA if I'm going to be stuck in Palumpolum, overseeing the production of weapons for the Guardian Corps HQ?" Bartholomew said "You are going to remain in Bodhum to make sure the exports are bringing in the right gear and enough of the gear being exported. Andrew, my right hand man, will operate Estheim Inc. for as long as needed."

Hope nodded and Bartholomew had a coughing fit, causing the adults and teen to look at him in pity and fear. He took a couple of raspy breaths and said "My vision's fading. B-Before I go, I have a parting message for all of you, individually."

He turned to Sazh and began "Sazh. You've become one brilliant strong and kind man. You've become one hell of a pilot and a loyal and trustworthy friend. I thank you for helping NORA the way you have for providing shelter and handling anything that required legal authorisation. Keep up the great work."

Sazh nodded solemnly and said "Thank you, Bartholomew." Bartholomew nodded and turned to Lebreau.

"Lebreau. You've certainly matured and wizened over the years, remaining a loyal companion to everyone through the thick and thin. I hope you'll grow even more as the years fly by and I hope you keep the group safe, their lives and their secrets. Thank you for everything."

Lebreau gulped as tears came to her eyes and said in a cracked voice "Thank you, Bartholomew."

He smiled sadly at her and turned to Yuj.

"Yuj. You are a kind and understanding man. Not only are you that, but you're a fierce friend who'll do anything to protect those he cares about. I want you to keep it up and grow even stronger over the next many years, and I thank you for being the man you are today."

Yuj nodded and replied "Thank you, Bartholomew. I will become stronger." Bartholomew smiled proudly at him and turned to Fang.

"Fang. You're one of the strongest and fiercest women I've ever known. The love you have for Vanille and your friends is overwhelming and passionate. Despite your blunt and short tempered nature, you are an amazing girl. I hope you accomplish your dream of becoming a first class warrior soon. Thank you for all you've done."

Fang nodded sadly and murmured quietly "Thank you, Bartholomew. I'll be a no.1 soon." He looked approvingly at her before turning to Vanille.

"Vanille. You're one peppy girl, anyone can tell you that. You've got such a sweet and kind nature, and we need people like you to make us smile every day. I hope you get your dream of becoming an environmentalist one day, and thank you for being the kind and helpful person you are."

Tears ran down Vanille's face and she whispered "Thank you, Bartholomew. I'll try hard!" He smiled sadly at her before turning to Gadot.

"Gadot. You've been a great, strong protector and friend to us all. You always stand up for your friends and try to do justice. Keep being who you are, and thank you for your service in NORA."

He grunted sadly "Thank you, Bartholomew" and Bartholomew turned to Maqui.

"Maqui. You've become a really smart man these past many years. However, you still need to stop picking fights all the time; you'll eventually get severely hurt. But despite all that, you're a dependable, intelligent man with a keen aim with a gun. Keep up the good stuff."

Maqui nodded with tearing eyes and said "Thanks, Bartholomew. I will." He nodded firmly at him before turning to Snow.

"Snow. You're a strong yet gentle man, with a big heart for those around you. You've been a loyal and faithful boyfriend to Serah, and I know you'll never stop loving her. You may need to brush up on thinking before you talk or you'll get permanent brain damage before you're twenty-one, courtesy of a certain pinkette that's a Sergeant. Keep being the man you are, and thank you for being a wonderful friend."

Snow had some tears falling due to his soft heart and said "Of course I will, Bartholomew. Thank you." He half smirked at him before turning to Serah, who was already crying.

"Serah. You're a warm hearted and gentle young woman that can light up the room with a smile. You'll need to keep Snow in line before your sister kills him, so be ready for that. As I've said, you two will love each other forever, and I'm betting you'll get married to each other someday. Continue being who you are, become a teacher and a mother like you wanted to be and keep getting Snow out of or away from trouble."

She nodded and replied tearfully "I will, Bartholomew. Thank you." He smiled gently and turned to Claire.

"Claire. You are strong, beautiful, fierce and kind young woman, truly a one-of-a-kind lady. I know that you and Hope will always be together, I can just feel it. Ever since you two met and made that promise thirteen years ago, Nora and I both knew that you were meant to be. I hope you'll become a General one day and that you'll marry and have children of your own. Keep Hope in line and don't hit him and Snow too much, okay? They need the brain cells. I wish you all the best for the future and thank you for everything, especially for finding Hope that fateful day thirteen years ago. It's brought us more joy than you could possibly imagine."

Claire had tears stream done her face and she croakily replied "I will become those things, Bartholomew. Thank you for everything." He smiled back at her before finally turning to his son, Hope.

"Hope. My dear son. You've grown up into a better man than I could ever be. You've grown strong, created strong bonds between new people and have friendships and a relationship that'll last forever. As I said to Claire, both Nora and I knew that you two were to be, even Arthur and Ada knew. I hope you'll give us four parents some heirs and heiresses in the future, and become a strong and kind father. Do well in our family business and become an even better man than you are now in the future. Live up to your dreams to the minutest degree and protect those that you love with passion. I am proud of you, my son, and I'll never stop being proud of you Hope."

Hope gulped down his tears and replied strongly "I will, father. Thank you for believing in me, and all of us here." Bartholomew smiled with fatherly love at him and Hope continued "You can let go now, dad. I'm ready to do this on my own. It going to be scary, but I want you to know that I'm going to be okay now, dad. You can let go." Bartholomew's smile got slightly wider with more sincerity and started to close his eyes. Hope finally murmured:

"You can let go."

Bartholomew closed his eyes fully and his heart stilled.

Bartholomew Estheim had passed away.

The burial was in Palumpolum, where Bartholomew was cremated and Hope scattered his ashes over the edge of the seaside cliff his mother's ashes were scattered, the two now together forever, even in death.

Hope only let a few tears escape as he watched the sun set below the sea, his hair blowing in the wind as his hands were shoved in his dress pant pockets. Claire and the others watched from a distance behind him, Claire slightly closer to him than the others, until Claire walked up and linked her left arm through his right pocketed arm, leaning her head against the outside of his shoulder and grabbing her wrist with her free hand. He looked down at her and cupped her cheek with his left hand and bent his knees slightly to rest his cheek against the top of her head, his remaining tears falling down his cheek before soaking into her hair.

They let go eventually and walked arm-in-arm to the group, solemn in mutual feeling, the group heading off as one, towards Hope's home, towards the city of Palumpolum, and towards a future without Hope's father.

They stayed at Hope's huge home in an apartment complex called Felix Heights. The group did the same thing to Hope to cheer him up like when he was fourteen: took him out, did some things and had movies nights the whole while they were there. He, like last time, was grateful for them helping him through this ordeal. He thought about how lucky he was to have them all, especially Claire.

He actually thought about asking her to marry him, but was yet to buy a ring. He knew her finger measurement because her mother's ring size was the same as hers, so he looked at one of her mother's rings, found out the measurement and memorised it.

He went out for a walk after telling his friends and girlfriend that he was going out to clear his head. He walked to a jeweller's shop and asked the woman at the desk "Excuse me, madam. Where can I look for some engagement rings?" She raised an eyebrow with a smile and asked "You going to pop the question?" He gave a couple of chuckles and replied "Yes, I am." She smiled slightly wider and said "Okay then! Come right this way."

Hope followed her to a large glass and wood case and looked inside it. They were all beautiful, but one of them stood out like the sun.

It was a silver ring with a light blue diamond in the shape of a six pointed star in the middle with smaller cut diamonds all around the rest of the band in three lines. He pointed out that ring and said "That one is perfect." She nodded and said "Alright. What's her finger measurement?" "L" Hope replied confidently. She pulled out the ring he pointed to and said "Fortunately, this one is a size L."

He smiled and paid the lady 15,000 gil for the ring, which was now in a silver velvet box with a white interior and with a white bow tied around it. He slipped the ring into his breast pocket and headed home.

However, when he got there, his friends were geared up for battle, looking very grim indeed. He demanded "What's going on?" Claire looked at the others before looking at him dead in the eye and said "PSICOM have engaged the Guardian Corps and NORA into a major battle in the Vile Peaks. War has been declared."

Hope immediately got changed into his NORA battle gear, which was a black skin-tight suit with black and glowing blue battle armour, including a helmet, so it looked similar to the GC troops'. He was armed with his boomerang, a manadrive, a machine gun and a Buster Sword and took the engagement ring as a luck charm in a secret compartment in his ammo pouch. The group headed out and got into the _S.S. Freedom,_ NORA's cargo ship, which had arrived on Claire's orders, and headed to the Vile Peaks.

Hope sat slouched with his machine gun in his hands, his knuckles pale white from gripping so tightly. His leg was bouncing up and down at a fast pace, the suspense of battle nearly killing him. A small, soft yet strong right hand rested on his bouncing left knee, soothing him to stop. He looked up to his left to see Claire's comforting eyes gazing into his own sympathetically. He straightened up and smiled gently at her, a gesture she returned, before touching foreheads gently with her. The ship landed and Hope and Claire broke apart, Hope and Claire placing on their helmets. The hull opened up and the group jogged out and on top of the cliffs of the Vile Peaks, preparing to fire at the enemy from above while the enemy was trying to get past the small squad and their base.

They started firing at the enemy, killing nearly a third of them after a few rounds. Hope, Snow and Claire jumped down with a few melee fighters and started ploughing through the enemy troops, their skills surpassing PSICOM by a million. Soon, the PSICOM troops were killed and NORA went into the Guardian Corps base, ready to discuss the war and the next plan of action.

The war went on for six more months until NORA could finally go home. All of the original team were alive, and have only a few casualties and injuries throughout the entire NORA group. The NORA army started trudging into the _S.S. Freedom_ and Hope and Claire lagged behind, Hope wanting to ask her the question now. Hope opened his mouth as the pair stopped fifty meters away from the ship and he said "Claire ... I-"

BOOM!

The pair ducked as smoke covered the air around them. Looking up, Hope and Claire saw many one-man PSICOM bombers heading their way, out to destroy NORA once and for all. Hope yelled "CLAIRE! RUN!" and she did, taking off at breakneck speed with Hope at her heels. The last fighter plane NORA had was outside the _S.S. Freedom_ when Hope got an idea.

Hope picked up Claire and got her onboard, putting her down on a bench and closed the hull of the ship as the ship took off. However, before the hull fully closed; Hope said "Remember, I love you, Claire." She looked at him confused when he backed quickly away to the closing entrance before her eyes widened and jumped up as he fell backwards with his arms outstretched. She screamed as she ran to him "HOPE! NOOO!" but it was too late.

He had jumped out of the ship and the hull fully closed.

She collapsed onto her fists and knees on the hull platform and slammed her fist onto it, cursing and crying "Dammit. Dammit. Dammit! DAMMIT!" Serah knelt by her side and hugged her from behind and Claire rested a hand on Serah's shoulder while still there on the ground, crying.

Hope was gone, in more ways than one.


	3. Despair and Hope

Two and a half years.

That's how long it's been since he jumped.

That's how long it's been since he jumped to fight off the bombers.

All by himself.

Claire 'Lightning' Farron stood as a young woman of twenty-one on her bedroom balcony, overlooking the sun rise over the ocean as the white gulls flew by, cheerful and happy.

Two things Claire wasn't.

Claire hadn't been happy since Hope had apparently died, died protecting the _S.S Freedom_. She cried whenever she thought of him, the boy who brought everyone together. Hanging out with NORA wasn't enjoyable at all anymore.

Neither was _any_ other activity.

Claire heard Serah open the French doors behind her and Serah said quietly "Claire. It's time."

Claire sighed and thought about what was happening now.

The train that Hope used to catch in order to come to Bodhum for the summer was arriving today.

The NORA gang went to the train station on the day Hope would've arrived in Bodhum every year in memoriam of his name. He was named as a hero by the GC publically after they won the PSICOM/GC/NORA war two and a half years ago. The group had taken his 'death' well at all and it affected them all, but none as much as Claire.

Claire slid her Blazefire Saber into the sheathe on her backside and headed out of the house with a now-engaged-to-Snow Serah Farron.

_The man in black and blue took to the sky in a one-man fighter plane, ready to take down the fleet of one-man PSCIOM bomber planes threatening the _S.S Freedom.

_Even if it meant his life._

_He flew straight up on a diagonal angle and shot down three ships in his way and flew past the enemy ships before flipping backwards and dove at the enemy, shooting five more down while using the dark grey clouds to his advantage, concealing his flight patterns._

_The enemy started to scatter and the man took down one after another, ending another fifteen lives in their planes. The fleet now only had twenty-seven planes left, although nearly half were eliminated, there was still a lot to go._

_He got two planes on his tail and flew vertically upwards, spinning around and around, causing his two pursuers to do the same until the two crashed into each other. He broke out of his plight and dive-shot another plane, sending it and it's flier to the unwelcoming earth below._

_Twenty-six down, twenty-four more to go._

_He shot down five more planes in a row, literally, and sent them to their doom._

_Thirty-one down, nineteen more to go._

_Six bombers were incoming and the man grinned as he released six tracking missiles onto them, causing them to snuff it._

_Thirty-seven down, thirteen to go._

_Seven planes tried to get him, but he flew upwards, causing two to crash and blow up, before using the same vertical-spin technique to finish the remaining five off._

_Forty-four down, six to go._

_He shot down a plane as he dove down upon it._

_Five to go._

_He shot down another as he pulled out of the dive._

_Four to go._

_He loop-de-looped behind another plane and shot down his engines, blowing the plane up._

_Three._

_He dived as a plane pursued him towards the ground and pulled up in time before the pursuing plane smashed into the cliff._

_Two._

_He spun up vertically and shot down another plane._

_One._

_Disaster struck._

_The man's engines were shot by the last plane._

_He tumbled helplessly towards the cold, cruel rocks before him._

_But he wouldn't die without taking the last man down to Hell with him._

_He flipped the plane around, still falling and shot it down, killing the pilot and the plane before it even hit the ground._

_He unbuckled his seatbelt and smashed his cockpit window to his left._

_He was about to jump, and –_

"Sir? Excuse me sir."

The dozing man, who was previously asleep from beneath the cowl underneath his black hoodie, jumped awake as the train assistant woke him up.

"I'm sorry, sir," he said, "but the train has stopped at Bodhum. It's time to get off." The man got up and stretched, relaxing his stiff and tired muscles. The man put on his Buster Sword and machine gun on his back, fixed up his manadrive and pocketed his boomerang before pulling on his black backpack onto his back and his ammo pack onto his belt and said "Thank you for waking me" to the assistant.

He walked towards the train door, dressed in a black shirt, a black hoodie, a black pair of pants, a pair of black work boots and a pair of black gloves and left the train without another word, the only skin visible was his young, handsome lower face with a light, silver moustache and stubble around his chin and jaw-line.

NORA watched train 291 pull up at the station like always, with people streaming off of it as usual for the holidays. Claire watched with a heavy heart how none of these people was the man she loved. The last few passengers got off and Claire turned around and said "Come on, guys. Let's go."

The army turned to leave and they took two paces when they heard "CLAIRE! _**CLAIRE!**_" Claire turned around and saw a man in black running towards her, pushing everyone out of his way, and armed with a Buster Sword, a machine gun, a manadrive and a boomerang.

Only one man had _exactly_ those few things.

Claire and the others gasped and Claire ran to him, crying and screaming "HOPE! _**HOPE!**_" His hood fell off as he got closer to her and he smiled with tears in his eyes and they embraced, Claire crying into his chest as she clung to the front of his hoodie, Hope stroking her hair and holding her tighter to him, as if he's afraid she'd suddenly disappear. People around the couple and their friends stopped and stared at the exchange, before many people smiled at their happiness.

She let go after a while and punched his chest, crying "**DON'T EVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!**" She tried to wipe away her tears, but Hope was already gently wiping them away with his thumbs, cupping either side of her face as he did so. He murmured "I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you for two and a half years. I only just made it to Palumpolum from my crash site in the Vile Peaks last week."

She looked up at him, eyes wide and leaking with tears and he continued "I had to make my way through PSICOM troops and all to even get close to Palumpolum. At one point, I was captured and tortured by PSICOM, but I managed to escape and made it back to the train once again." Claire whimpered and hugged him again and whispered "I'm just glad you're safe." He smiled as he returned the hug and replied "Me too." They broke apart and Hope asked "Hey, Claire, remember the day I disappeared how I said I wanted to tell you something?" She nodded and replied "Yeah. What about it?" He smiled and rummaged into his ammo pouch's hidden compartment. He grabbed hold of the box but didn't pull it out yet. His smile got slightly wider and said "There was something I wanted to ask you."

He got onto one knee and pulled out the box simultaneously, causing Claire to gasp and clasp her hands over her mouth, the others gasping with her and Hope began "Claire. Ever since we met here by the powers of fate sixteen years ago, I knew that we'd always be together, no matter where we are. When we grew older, my love for you grew and grew, never once wavering. I always was excited to come back here every summer, so I could just see you once again."

"Our bonds with our friends and family grew, even though our parents were taken from us while we were young teenagers. I wanted to propose to you when we were eighteen, after my father finally perished, and I was going to propose to you that night, but war had different plans. We were forced to fight, and I nearly died for it, to protect you, and NORA. I took this ring with me into battle as a good luck charm, and to remind me that you and I were meant to be. But despite all that, my love for you never wavered and it only grew stronger and stronger as I struggled through the warzone, my kidnapping, my torture, the Vile Peaks and many more dangerous terrains, just to come home to you. I got to my hometown of Palumpolum, took the train that brought us together sixteen years ago, and finally, I'm here, at home."

The crowd was silent and tears welled up once again in Claire's eyes. Hope then finished "So, Claire 'Lightning' Isabel Farron,"

He looked up into her eyes while presenting the ring and asked "Will you marry me?"

Claire sobbed but nonetheless smiled the most beautiful smile imaginable and sobbed "Yes! Oh yes!" He grinned as far as he can go, slipped the ring on her left ring finger and stood up, just as Claire jumped onto him with laughter and hugged him around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her above the ground, just as the audience around them applauded and cheered and roared at the happy union. Claire grabbed either side of Hope's face with welling eyes and smiled down at him as he did the same and kissed his lips strong and passionately, a gesture he returned as the crowd went even wilder.

The now engaged couple broke apart from the kiss and touched foreheads.

Everything was perfect.

Bodhum celebrated the return of Hope the Hero and NORA were glad to have their missing mate back again. Hope caught up with everyone, meeting Sazh's pregnant fiancé, Emerald, and threatened Snow he'll tear his balls off if he does anything to hurt Serah when he found out they were engaged. Fang and Vanille came out as gay and, since they technically weren't 'cousins' as they made out they were to hide the fact they were gay, they were engaged and they couldn't wait. Maqui and Lebreau were dating, and Yuj got a girl called Lillia, a fellow soldier in NORA. Gadot got a girl in NORA called Enya, and he was thinking of popping the question soon.

Not long after Hope's return, Serah and Snow were married and Snow got Serah pregnant on their honeymoon night. When they revealed that they were expecting at Serah's birthday party, Claire spat out her drink, stood up faster than her nickname and exclaimed "**WHAT?!**" before paling and passing out.

The couple never lived that down.

Sazh and Emerald had a baby boy a few months later and they decided to call him Dahj, and planned to have another little boy in the future (who was called Ryan when he was born two years later). A couple of months afterwards, they got married and lived in a nice house by the beach, instead of the NORA apartment.

Fang and Vanille married after that and both had a sperm donation and both got pregnant, causing the two lesbians to become overjoyed.

Hope and Claire married shortly after the announcement of the lesbians' pregnancies and lived in Claire and Serah's parents' old house as Serah moved into a different family home with Snow. They also got pregnant on the honeymoon night and Serah, when she found out about the news, screamed in delight and jumped her sister into a hug, well, jumped as a much as a six month pregnant woman could.

Serah's children were a twin boy and a twin girl, the boy being called Mathew Villiers, while the girl was called Erin Villiers. Serah and Snow loved their little bundles of joy and Claire cried about being an aunt before screaming at poor Hope to get her some pickles smothered in sweet chilli sauce.

Fang had a little boy called Derik Yun and Vanille had a girl called Jez Dia, the happy couple overjoyed to have their children at last.

Claire and Hope had a little girl called Nora in memory of Hope's mother, and decided that if they have another girl (which they eventually did have a year afterwards, along with a twin brother called Arthur) to call her Ada.

Maqui and Lebreau married and had their son Arron right off the bat before having a girl called Ruby straight afterwards.

Yuj and Lillia married and had a girl called Mia and were currently pregnant with another girl who they'd decided to call Aria. They had a son called Eomer three years later.

Gadot and Enya had a son called Archer and Enya was pregnant with a little girl called Arwen. They had another boy called Richard a year after Arwen's birth.

They all grew older and older as the years went by, watching their children grow but their friendship and love amongst each other remained the same, except even stronger.

Life for them was amazing.


	4. The End

Claire 'Lightning' Isabel Estheim, an old lady of eighty-seven smiled gummy as she rocked in her rocking chair, humble with the life around her. All of those she grew up with and loved were dead.

In other words, all of her NORA friends, which included her husband, Hope, and her little sister, Serah, were long gone due to old age.

She knew she didn't have long to live now, and she looks at the urn containing Hope's ashes on her mantelpiece. Besides it are her sister's ashes and the original NORA gangs' ashes, all labelled and standing proudly before her, waiting to be scattered.

She feels her heart fading and holds on tightly to her parting message in her wrinkled and aching hands. She smiled one last time at their urns and group picture behind it of when they were young adults and closed her eyes, her heart beating one last time before dying.

Claire 'Lightning' Isabel Estheim had passed away in peace.

Her children, now in their sixties, found her body in her rocking chair, with her last peaceful smile on her face. They turned from shocked to soft and Nora whispered "Oh mum. It looks like it's your time." Ada and Arthur walked to their mother's side and together, the three siblings embraced their dead mother, releasing tears of sadness and happiness, the sadness for her death, and the happiness for no longer living in pain.

They let go, drying their tears and Ada noticed the letter in her mother's hands. "Look," she said, "mum's holding a letter." Arthur gently eased it out of his mother's dead hands and read out:

_Dear beloved children, Nora, Ada, and Arthur,_

_When you read this, I'm obviously dead, but I have some things to tell all of you._

_First of all, to my darling Nora._

_Nora, my eldest child. I am so proud of everything you've accomplished in your life. You've become a Grand General, you've stopped two wars, and you've given me grandchildren, who in turn have given me great grandchildren, and who in turn have started to give me great-great grandchildren._

_I want you to remember my memory Nora, by remembering the good times, and the bad, but never linger in regret._

_Again, I'm proud of you with every bit of pride I care spare, and I love you, even though I have passed on._

_Secondly, to my lovely Ada._

_I am proud of what you've done with your life, and have blessed me with many descendents. I want you to continue living your life to the fullest, and make sure you really live. You may be sixty-three, but you've still got energy in you like I had a couple of years ago!_

_Keep me close to your heart and stay true to your new dreams, Ada. You are a wonderful woman, but most importantly, you've been a wonderful daughter._

_Always remember, I am proud of you, and I love you, even in death._

_And third and finally, my beloved Arthur._

_You have become a strong, brave and wise man. I've looked upon you with pride as my only son, who followed in your father's footsteps and taken over our family company. I love the work you've done to help so many people in need, and I have never thought of having a better son than you._

_Always remember me, Arthur, as I will never forget you._

_I am proud of you, and I love you with all my heart._

_Remember these words children, and remember them well._

_I have one last request to make of you all._

_The massive empty urn on my mantelpiece needs to be filled with _**HALF**_ of the ashes of all of the filled urns on the mantelpiece, so half of your father's, half of your aunt's etc, etc., including my own. Scatter them over Bahamut Peak in Palumpolum, where your father's parents' ashes were scattered. Then, pour the remaining ashes into the urn and paddle out 500 meters from the Bodhum shore so you're level with the cliff face on your left and scatter the remaining ashes into the water._

_The reason why I want this is because my husband, sister, NORA and myself made a vow to have half of our ashes to be scattered together in those two places, because those places are where my parents were scattered (Bodhum) and where your father's parents were scattered (Palumpolum), because we always wanted to be together, whether it's here in Bodhum or in Palumpolum and because Bodhum is my hometown and your father's hometown was Palumpolum._

_Please fulfil our wishes, as our last request._

_With all the love I can feel,_

_Claire 'Lightning' Isabel Estheim._

The three nodded and did as she asked, before telling the family their mother had died and that the funerals were to be held in a week.

As requested, half of each dead member of the original NORA gang was scattered together over the edge of Bahamut Peak in Palumpolum by Nora, Ada and Arthur.

While this was happening, a gently smiling five year old boy dressed in a whitish-grey shirt, navy blue shorts and dark brown sandals with silver hair and green-gray eyes watched the exchange and secretly followed the funerals' participants to Bodhum to watch them complete the ceremony by hopping on their train, train 291.

The boy watched the three senior adults surf out 500 meters from the shore before he walked slowly back to the train station as time slowed around him, frozen in crystal stasis.

He walked past the unmoving and blurred crowd and walked up to a pink haired girl of five wearing a light pink dress and light brown sandals, who had her back to him. She turned around as he got closer and her bright azure eyes met his green-gray ones, her face lighting up at the sight of him, small and gentle.

She hugged him as he did the same and asked "Are we finally together again?" He nodded as he hugged her and said "Yes. This time, forever."

They let go and looked to the boy's left and the girl's right, to see their parents there, along with their friends and family, all of the children being five years old while the adults were all twenty-three years old. They smiled at them before looking back at each other and smiled even wider. They held hands and ran to them, hugging their friends and family, especially their parents. The boy and girl walked with the group up a cliff face to see the ceremony as time unfroze itself once again. They saw their ashes get poured into the ocean and the spiritual group smiled.

They were finally together again, this time, forever.

_Here we are again and say goodbye_

_I see a face that I won't forget (forget)_

_All the people in the station walk on by_

_Now the train is ready to set (to set)_

_And now I count the days from A to Z_

_Until the train will bring you back (back)_

_And then we're raving up on the DJ set_

_Until the next time that the train will bring you back_


End file.
